New products, menus make it easier to cook and eat gluten-free

Friday

Patricia Bean makes a chocolate fudge cake so tasty that people don’t realize that it’s gluten-free –- except her daughter, who can’t eat gluten because she has celiac disease.

Patricia Bean makes a chocolate fudge cake so tasty that people don’t realize that it’s gluten-free –- except her daughter, who can’t eat gluten because she has celiac disease.

Instead of wheat flour, the cake is made with brown rice flour, tapioca flour and potato starch.

“I brought it to a baby shower, and someone said it tasted like a cake her mom made,'' said Bean, who lives in Marshfield, Mass.

In the two years since her daughter, Elizabeth, learned that her abdominal pains and cramps were caused by celiac disease, Bean has learned a new way of shopping, storing food and cooking.

“You have to think differently and read all the labels and plan ahead,'' Bean said. “It can be a challenge, and it’s also expensive.''

While the disease cannot be cured, it is getting easier to eat a gluten-free diet that includes favorite foods that normally would be forbidden – like pasta, bread, pizza and cake. More stores carry gluten-free items and more restaurants offer gluten-free menus.

“It used to be very hard to find gluten-free items,'' said Melinda Dennis, nutrition coordinator for the Celiac Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. “There are more products now, because the diagnosis has increased so much. Supply and demand is kicking in.''

Celiac disease is the most common genetically autoimmune disorder in the world, said Dennis, who also teaches classes in gluten-free foods and their preparation at Whole Foods in Hingham, Mass., and other locations. An estimated 2 million people in the United States, have celiac disease, according to the National Institutes of Health.

The disease damages the villi that line the small intestine, keeping it from properly absorbing food and nutrients. The age of onset and symptoms differ among people, and can include diarrhea, constipation, bloating, flatulence, abdominal pain, anemia and irritability. A diagnosis is confirmed by a blood test followed by an intestinal biopsy.

Celiac disease can be controlled by eliminating all gluten from the diet, and avoiding cross-contamination. Over time, the small intestine heals and symptoms disappear.

To learn how to make meals without gluten for her daughter, Bean attended a workshop taught by Dennis and consulted a variety of cookbooks.

“I ask her what she really wants to eat and I figure out how to make it using the gluten-free flours,'' Bean said. “I’m still learning.''

“Any grain or legume can be made into flour, and more types of flours are coming out all the time,'' said Dennis, who also founded and is the chair of the Healthy Villi Greater Boston Celiac Support Group.

Dennis recommends that people look for variety so they’ll have a more nutritious and interesting diet.

“Don’t just pick one type and eat it exclusively,'' she said. “Every food has its own profile, but it’s not complete.''

Bread is one of the more difficult foods to make without gluten, she said.

“You have to combine a couple of different flours and a binding agent, and the flours are going to have a different taste,'' said Dennis, who has had celiac disease for 17 years. “But there is some delicious bread out there that is getting closer to what people remember.''

Motivated by their own or a relative’s condition, two Massachusetts bakers have created a line of gluten-free baked goods.

Judith Mann, a Cape Cod nurse with celiac disease, started Good JuJu Bakery and sells breads, muffins, cookies and cupcakes online and at Good Health Natural Foods in Quincy and Hanover. Chris’s Gourmet Treats, started last June by Chris Moniz of Plymouth, sells baguettes, pound, sponge and chocolate cakes online and at Healthy Appetite store in Plymouth.

“I started making loafs for my grandmother and a lot of people liked them,'' Moniz said.

For most people, the loss of familiar and favorite foods is frustrating and troubling. But Dennis encourages people to focus on the opportunities for new flavors.

“It’s not just about what we have to take out of our diet, but about what we put in,'' she said. “You can have fun exploring interesting foods of different cuisines.''

Often, it’s easiest to eat gluten-free at ethnic restaurants, where Mexican corn tortillas, Japanese rice noodles and Indian curry rice and lentils are basic fare. But restaurants like Legal Sea Foods, Uno Chicago Grill, Outback Steakhouse and Burtons Grill also have gluten-free menus.

Resources

Check out these Web sites for gluten-free products, restaurants with gluten-free menus, and workshops: